Airplane Rendezvous
by spazenport
Summary: The tenth Doctor meets up with an old friend while investigating a spacial disturbance over the Atlantic.


Doctor Who: Airplane Rendezvous

The TARDIS materialized very noisily in the rental car lot outside of Heathrow Airport. Stepping from the large blue police box, came the Doctor. Head to toe he wore his usual brown trenchcoat over his usual blue suit, coming to an end at his bright red converse shoes.

Smiling a huge smile the Doctor looked over what he could see of the airport as he reached back and pulled the TARDIS door shut. Turning towards the main terminal, the Doctor started off at a brisk pace.

Entering the airport the Doctor waited patiently in line at a terminal for several minutes before being asked how he could be helped. The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and held it up to the terminal operator, a young woman with natural red hair pulled back in to a bun.

"Hello," he smiled broadly and genuinely, "I'm Doctor Smith, Scientific Advisor for U.N.I.T." He pocketed the psychic paper as soon as she had finished examining it and pulled out a device that the

Doctor would have described as a thingymabob but looked more like a tv remote control built out of multicolored legos and a rotating satellite dish. After a few shakes and a loud whirring noise, the

Doctor waved the device around until settling on pointing it at the soda machine on his left.

"I need a ticket for any flight going in the direction." He stopped shaking the device to look at it with a very deconstructive look, and then turned slowly. "No...no..." he was aiming the little device at

the escalators now. "Bingo!" he shouted, "That way, definitely that way."

The young woman standing in front of the Doctor was giving him a very curious, unbelieving look. "That would be west, sir. Our next plane west departs to Florida in 30 minutes. Would you like me to book you a seat?"

The Doctor was grinning again. "Oh, yes!"

A half an hour later, the Doctor was boarding the plane. He'd had only a little trouble at the checkpoints due to his assortment of tools he usually carried, and found that his psychic paper U.N.I.T. badge would only convince the security team to allow him to take his thingymabob in exchange for leaving behind his sonic screwdriver. Shy of the forfeiture of his favorite tool, the Doctor was quite enjoying himself, as he hadn't flown from Heathrow since that flight through

time to confont the Master.

The plane, more crowded than the Concord of the previously mentioned flight, was also slightly thinner. This the Doctor noticed as he slid down the center aisle towards his seat, back bent to avoid hitting his head.

Finally reaching his seat, he slid past the eldely man on the outer most seat and plopped comfortable into the window seat. The Doctor was about to introduce himself to the elderly man when he made a startling, and pleasing revelation.

The man next to him had the grizzled features of a man who had seen many battles, yet there were even more laugh lines than scars. Age notwithstanding, the man had a youthful look to his eyes that screamed defiance at any enemy who would dare match his stare. The coup de gras

for the Doctor, though, the feature that made him smile at the man's characteristic stubborn will was the fact that former Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart had chosen to grow back his

mustache since they had last seen each other.

"I find it hard to believe that, these days, they'd even let you near a plane, what with all the very questionable toys you carry." the Brigadier piped up while the Doctor was examining his old friend.

"Oh, you're good. You're really good, that's what you are." the Doctor' grin was matched by his old friend. "New face, how'd you figure it out so quickly?"

The Brigadier shifted to face his old friend more squarely. "I've learned over the years to pay more attention to the man than the man's face. I've met very few people in my life who get that excited over being on a plane. There was also the staring at me as if you knew me. You also had that gizmo sticking out of your pocket. Not to mention, no matter how many times your face changes, you'll always have that 'seen the universe' look in your eyes."

The Doctor kept smiling while slyly asking, "You parked next to the T.A.R.D.I.S. didn't you?"

The Brigadier laughed, "I almost had you though." He looked back to where the thingymabob was sticking out of the Doctor's trenchcoat. "What emergency has brought you back into my life this time?" Before the Doctor could respond the Brigadier held up his hand. "And, mind

you, I'm too damned old for Cybermen."

The Doctor pulled out the device and shook it, listening for any sort of rattling that might indicate a malfunction. "Well, this here thingymabob measures spacial disturbances, wormholes between points in space. Well, it does that and tends to electrocute it's holder on a regular basis." The Doctor winked, "Resilient, that's me."

"Are you saying, Doctor, that this plane isn't landing in Miami?" The Brigadier, having years of practice with this kind of thing, didn't even sound slightly disturbed by this fact. "Never a dull moment..."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, worst case is that we'll just fly near the disturbance, well, we might get really close, well we could go through it, but it's not terribly likely."

The Brigadier shook his head at the Doctor. "You've been at this at least 30 years with me and lord knows how long before, after, and inbetween, and you have no plan of action?"

"Oi! Don't get all drill sergeant with me. This isn't my first yeti, kiddo." The Doctor put a heavy emphasis on the word kiddo, silently taking pleasure in the similarity between this argument and the many they'd had in the past. "My plan, Alistair, is to locate this flux in space-time and then return to Heathrow and use the T.A.R.D.I.S. to close it up."

The Brigadier leaned back in his chair and fastened his seatbelt. "If you weren't you, I'd think that it would be that simple. I will say I told you so when the chance arises." He pointed a finger at the

Doctor. "And if it does turn out to be the Cybermen I'm going to let them convert me so that I can hunt you down."

The Doctor laughed at this and pocketed his thingymabob. The next hour or so, the old friends played catchup. The Doctor told the Brigadier of the last he'd heard from Ace, Nyssa leading some research group on a far away planet, and they both traded tales of their recent adventures with Sarah Jane Smith. Comparitively, the Brigadier told the Doctor about his recent years with his wife, the children and how they'd grown, and his recent work as liason for U.N.I.T., helping them quell the Cyberman and Dalek invasion caused by the London Torchwood that had cost the Doctor his Rose.

At that the Doctor went on to explain the events, very briefly, that had led him through the three regenerations since the Doctor and the Brigadier had last seen each other, including the resulting events of the time war.

"All of the Time Lords died, and somehow that maniac the Master survived?"

The Doctor's eyes saddened. "So much for that."

The Brigadier reached over and thumped the Doctor hard on the back. "Last Time Lord or not, I'm happy you survived old friend. I'd hate to think where we all would be without you." This registered a smile back onto the Doctor's face.

At that moment the thingymabob let out a loud chirp in the Doctor's pocket. Leaping from his seat as best as he could in the cramped space, he stood and removed the device from his pocket. Shaking it a few times, the Doctor kept alternating between waving it about and bending back down to peer out the window.

The Doctor, finally settled at aiming the device at the ceiling while he tried to make out what it's tiny display read, thumped himself on the forehead and started saying, "Oh, I'm so thick. Thick, thick,

thick! How could I have not seen this?"

Below the Doctor, still reseved and quiet in his own chair, the Brigadier's voice said "I told you so."

The Doctor, ignoring the Brigadier's remark, shouted, "Everyone! Grab a hold of something! Buckle up! Anything!" The passengers all just stared at him as if he was mad. All except one, that is, the Flight Marshal.

Before the Marshal could get fully to the Doctor, tha cabin shook violently. Quickly the Doctor started ripping his thingymabob to pieces and reassembling them in a configuration that, to any human

onlooker, looked exactly as it had when he had first pulled it from his pocket, only this newer version had a large makeshift lever on top. As the cabin shook even more violently the Doctor yanked back

hard on the lever.

As a direct result of his action the violent crescendo of reverberation came to an abrupt halt. "Oh, yes! I'm very good!"

The Brigadier stood up and opened his overhead luggage compartment and started digging through it. When he had found what he had been looking for, he pulled it free. Brandishing a shiny new cell phone with large buttons he gestured towards the Doctor. "Alright, Doctor. What's the nature of the beast, how do we kill it, and who do we need to call?"

The Doctor looked downtrodden at his old friend. "There is no one to call. We're stuck." He ran his hand through his hair trying to think through all angles. "Brigadier," he said quieter and gesturing towards a very angry looking Flight Marshal. "I think you might want to get your U.N.I.T. badge..."

Without following the Doctor's gaze, the retired brigadier did as instructed and then turned towards the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd please just stay calm. I'm UNIT Liaison Lethbridge Stewart, and this," he waved a hand at the Doctor, "is UNIT Scientific Advisor Doctor Smith." Lethbridge leaned back and whispered over his shoulder, "Do you still go by John Smith?"

The Doctor smiled at this, "Of course. I've always liked that name."

The Marshal started towards them, his anger marginally subsided.

Before he could reach them, Lethbridge spoke up again."UNIT has this situation under control, we apologize for the delay of your flight, and because of the sensative nature of the event occurring I will allow for the Doctor to explain." He moved to squeeze past the Doctor, as they passed each other the former Brigadier asked, "How was that? Believable?"

"Marvelous." The Doctor answered, "Its as if you'd never retired." The Doctor turned to face as many of the passengers as he could. "Actually, Liaison Stewart was wrong to apologize for the delay to your destination. Time is currently at a standstill." He gestured towards the windows. "Take a look. We're in a plane, in the air, but we're not moving." His audience, on this cue, started to get restless. "Please, don't panic. I will get us out of this." He ran his hand through his hair again and held up the thingymabob. "I was using this to track a tear, a tiny hole, in the fabric of space and time. Unfortunately, the hole isn't tiny, it's massive, and the plane was about to go through it. Believe me when I say that previous experience with this kind of thing never turns out well. If this were a bus we'd be fine, but in a plane, no matter where we'd end up, we'd fall and die." He shook the thingymabob again. "So, in a last second effort to save our lives I reconfigured this to manipulate, ever so barely, the time energy leaking from that hole. Doing this, I froze the plane in time, thus buying us some for me to save us."

The entire concept fell on deaf ears as everyone started to panic as well as resume their ideas concerning the Doctor being a madman. The Brigadier continued to calmly raise his voice and usher quiet while the Doctor moved to meet the Flight Marshal.

"I know how crazy this sounds, but I'm the only one who can save all of our lives." The Flight Marshal had had his cuffs at the ready and both men were now staring at them. "If you arrest me it's only a matter of time before this," he waggled the thingymabob, "runs out of energy. It might be days, it might be weeks, but if I don't save us then it won't matter, because no matter how long it takes, we're all

dead." He said this all in a soft but firm voice, and was rewarded by the Marshal looking out the nearest window at the lack of movement in the clouds or the ocean below them.

"Alright," he said with an American accent. "I'll help however I can."

The Doctor slapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Get these people calmed down. I'm going to discuss our options with my companion." The Doctor stepped back to the Brigadier.

"What do we do now, Doctor?"

"Well, the plan is still the same. Get back to Heathrow and get the TARDIS to close this thing down. With the added step of saving everyone on board. But how...?" The Doctor slapped his cheeks lightly a couple of times. "Think, think, think..."

The Brigadier, no longer needed to calm people down now that the Marshal was on top of things, plopped down in what was previously the Doctor's seat. "Its too bad you didn't bring your TARDIS with you, we could have just gone back and warned ourselves."

The Doctor threw his hands out towards the Brigadier. "Oh, Brigadier! You're brilliant!" He wiggled the thingymabob at the former man in charge of UNIT. "This is feeding off of time energy from the tear to keep is suspended in our own time bubble: a separate dimension from the rest of the universe. On a very small scale, this is doing what the TARDIS does! If I can loop this into the hull then we'd have a much larger collector for the loose time energy." The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, his eyes going wide. "I could get us past the tear, if enough energy was collected, I might even be able to close the tear from here!"

The Brigadier rolled his eyes. "Plain English, Doctor."

The Doctor grinned. "I'm going to turn the airplane into a TARDIS!"

The Brigadier smiled at his friend's enthusiasm, while at the same time completely failing to understand him. Lethbridge had long ago learned that when it came to aliens and scientific matters, just let the Doctor do his thing.

"What can I do to help, Doctor?"

The Doctor looked around frantically. "I need... I need... Cable! Lots of cable! And get some passengers to strip the walls down to bare metal! I'm going to be in the cockpit explaining our situation to the pilots." The Doctor left the Brigadier and headed towards the front of the plane.

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the pilots as he entered. "I'm with UNIT." and then filled them in, in the least complicated way possible, on their current situation. The pilots took it all very graciously, much to the Doctor's surprise, as their instruments all verified what their eyes, and the Doctor, were telling them.

That settled, the Doctor returned to the Brigadier who held up a large bundle of cabling.

"I had the passengers help me pull this from most of the overhead lighting." He pointed up at the walls. Where there had previously been plastic lining, there were now patches of bare metal from the hull.

"Brilliant!" he tossed a handful of the cables he'd taken from the Brigadier back at the man. "Metal has to touch metal, it doesn't matter how." They furiously went about tying the cables to the

brackets or jamming them between the seams of the walls, doing anything and everything to make them stick. Between the Doctor and the Brigadier, they were done attaching the cables within minutes.

Upon finishing, the Doctor sprinted forward to the cockpit and ducked inside. After a few seconds, the Doctor poked his head out expectantly. "Oi! Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart! Are you coming?" He smiled an ear to ear grin. "You won't want to miss this." He pulled his head back into the cockpit and was soon joined by the Brigadier.

The sight that greeted the former head of UNIT was one that would make any pilot go into convulsions. The instrument panel was gutted, with only one readout still showing any useful information. From multiple points from the gutted panel trailed wires of all size and color. Each of these wires ended with the Doctor as he sadly used a normal screwdriver to attach them to various components from what was left of his thingamajigger. Putting his screwdriver in his mouth, as if it were another hand, the Doctor took the thingamajig and twisted it until it made a loud beep and started to hum. The Doctor shifted and mumbled some sort of triumphant grunt from around the screwdriver before setting down the thingamajig and dropping the screwdriver into his coat.

The Doctor looked to the Brig and pointed at the thingamajig now sitting on the instrument panel. "Originally, that was for detecting time vortex energy. I've now made it into a type of vortex reciever. We're going to pump the vortex energy into the hull." The Doctor frowned and looked down at the thingamajigger. "If I hooked it up correctly, and there's no reason to doubt myself, well I mean I could be wrong. But it should project the airplane along it's originally uninterrupted timeline."

The Brigadier looked from the pilots to the Doctor, back to the confused pilots and then again to the Doctor. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that if this airplane was originally supposed to land in Florida then we'll materialize in Florida."

The Brigadier, always a straight-shooter, asked the Doctor, "What if the plane was never supposed to make it to Florida, Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged and puffed out his cheeks. "Well, yeah..." he wiggled his head back and forth as if sending the thought back and forth in his brain. "The idea had occurred to me..."

"And?" the former head of UNIT encouraged.

"Well, we'll end up where ever we were supposed to end up. If the plane was supposed to crash, then we'll materialize at the bottom of the Atlantic." The Doctor held up a hand, "But the chances of that are highly unlikely, and either way, if we do nothing then we go the way of Lord of the Flies and tear each other apart while we starve." He pointed right at the Brigadier. "Is that it? Do you want to be like William Golding and explore the barbaric nature of man. Fine by me, sounds more fun than retiring to sunny Florida." The Doctor ended the last bit with a knowing half grin.

"Very well, old friend. You've made your point. Flip the damned switch."The Doctor's half grin completed into a large toothy one.

"Allons-y!" he shouted and yanked on the switch housed on the thingamajig.

"Allons-y?" asked the Brigadier, one eyebrow raised.

The Doctor shrugged. "Its French. New face likes French."

The Brigadier returned the Doctors manic grin as the plane finally started to move.

The Brigadier would have been the first to agree that the feeling that shuddered through the plane was almost as unsettling as the mild current that made everyone's hair stand slightly on end. No matter how unsettling it was though, it was over in seconds as, with a bright flash, it was all over.

Outside the now cracked cockpit window was sunshine, an airport, and several runway attendants quite content with a job well done directing the plane into it's parking bay, stairs already being wheeled to the door.

The Doctor clapped his old friend on the back joyfully. "Well done," applauded the Brigadier. Yanking the thingamajig from cockpit controls the Doctor shoved the device into his coat and led the charge off of the plane.

"I trailed time energy behind us as we travelled forward," explained the Doctor. "Very simply, it snapped the tear in space-time shut."

They had exited the plane and were standing on the tarmac ignoring the freaking out passengers that filed off of the plane.

"Yes," replied the Brigadier, "but it's far from over." Before the Doctor could fully recognize what the Brigadier was pointing at, the old soldier stepped forward, cane raised, and used it to snap aside a stick shaped weapon before throwing his old, yet still powerful fist into the face of...

"Sontaran bastard!" hissed the Brigadier.

The Doctor rushed forward and aided his friend by kicking aside the Sontaran weapon and then ushering his friend back as the alien recovered from the attack.

Warriors by nature, the Doctor was still only slightly surprised that the Brigadier had gotten a blow on the alien. Only slightly, as the Doctor knew, quite well, that his friend was formidable as well.

"I assume that this is your culprit, Doctor?" the Brigadier was standing slightly in front of the Doctor, cane raised like a sword.

The Doctor pulled glasses from his coat and put them on, eying the Sontaran.

"Oh yes! Trapped here, right? Left by your people after the Atmos thing" the Doctor walked past the Brigadier's cane and sauntered around the wary alien, who still just stood at the defensive, not

making any moves.

"All a trap?" the Doctor asked. "Well, of course, it'd have to be. Create a whole in space and time...how though? That would take so much energy."

The Brigadier spoke up, "Would a hurricane have enough energy, Doctor."

The Doctor through his hands out. "Oh! Of course." He looked at the Sontaran again. "He is good isn't he?" The Doctor pointed at the weapon now on the ground. "Your weapon rod is useless isn't it. You used it to convert the hurricane energy."

"All a trap you said, Doctor?"

"Sure, for us! Well, me. Well, not so much me, as any being capable of sensing the space fluctuation. Anyone who could pick that up would probably have a spaceship, except I don't do I?" The Doctor got up very close to the short spud-like warrior and looked him in the eye.

"Just some wire and string. Can't go home, so what now?"

The Sontaran spoke finally. "Words are the weapons of the weak, Time Lord. Give me the spacial manipulator in your pocket so that I can leave this wretched planet."

The Doctor pulled the thingamajig from his pocket, "This? Sure." He tossed it to the warrior. "You may wish to step back before using it."

The Brigadier spoke up. "You're just giving it to him? Hardly wise, wouldn't you agree, Doctor?"

"Nah." shrugged the Doctor. "Just recognizing his superior strength as a warrior of the Sontaran elite."

The Sontaran turned smug, grinning, "Correct, the Time Lord recognizes his place."

With that the Sontaran flipped the same lever the Doctor had hit to save them all just moments ago.

Another bright flash, similar to the one that had brought them to Florida. As their eyes cleared, they all stood in the TARDIS. The Sontaran lay upon the floor unconscious.

"Doctor? What happened?" asked the Brigadier.

The Doctor was already flipping switches on the console, the center pumping up and down. "As I'd said, the device fed on time energy from the vortex." The Doctor shrugged, "The closest source was the Sontaran, having activated the tear. After that had been," he waved at the unconscious warrior, "exhausted, it used that small bit to propel those within vicinity of the device to the next nearest source." The Doctor threw his hip into moving an obviously stuck lever with loud "Ha!"

"Here." Answered the Brigadier, "The TARDIS. Different than I remember..."

"But just like me," laughed the Doctor, "just the same. Ready for Florida?"

The Brigadier shrugged, "Yes, but take your time getting there. Maybe you can find me some Cybermen or yeti's to give this old soldier another adventure, first."

The Doctor saluted. "Yes, sir!" and punched another button on the console.


End file.
